Tuesday, 27 January 2015

Grid Obsessions, part II. Making a lined anything can be a bit of a mind-bender. A vest is one of the best pieces to start your lining adventures with, as there's minimal risk of ending up with a sewn-shut lump of fabric and having no clue where you went wrong.

In choosing the pieces I make, I usually go with the holy trinity of functionality, minimalism/simplicity, and inspiration. If it's wearable with the majority of my wardrobe, simple enough to remain a favourite regardless of changing fashions, and if I can visualize it or have seen something on a runway I think I can re-create, it's happening. With this particular project, the clarity was pristine - If you ask me, the grid pattern will never be out of style, clean lines go with everything, and my office tends to get freezing in the winter, so this little darling is the perfect layering piece over lighter shirts.

I. Start by taking some measurements from an existing light coat or blazer (the key spots are the width of your back and how wide you want the front panels of the vest to be). Trace 3 pieces on your fabric, and repeat the process to get identical pieces of lining. Cut out and you should have 6 pieces. Finish the edges with a zigzag (I only did the lining, wool doesn't really fray). I added an extra 7-ish cm to center of each front panel, because I wanted to have the main fabric make the fold instead of the lining starting right at the edge (see step III to get what I mean).

II. Place the pieces together right sides facing, pin the shoulders, and sew.

III. Insert the lining against the vest, wrong sides facing each other. At this point I trimmed the front pieces of the lining to fit as I ironed a the fold in the grid fabric you see below. Then pin the lining to the front edge as shown in the second image. [Note - if you want to go the easier way, just make the front panels the shape you want with a regular seam allowance, and sew normally along the edge as you see I did for the back of the neck and the arm holes in the next steps.]

IV. Pin the back of the neck together and sew together with a straight stitch.

V. Now for the arm holes. Just like you did with the back of the neck, pin the lining to the vest and sew around the hole. At this point I also trimmed the excess off the front panels.

VI. The finish line is on the horizon. Turn the vest lining facing out and pin the side seams together, right sides facing, first the vest and then repeat for the lining.

VII. Last, there are two options. You could sew the hem to the lining the same way as the side seams, leaving a 10-15 cm gap at the center of the back. This gap will let you turn the vest right side out, and then you can hand sew the gap shut. I wanted to make sure the lining didn't end up creating any weird pulls that prevent the vest from fitting nicely, so I instead just finished the vest hem and the hem of the lining by ironing them with hemming tape in between the fold.